The Incredibly Hot June Biblical Studies Carnival, Including Lots of Scandal Because of an Unprovenanced Manuscript…

The fear of God is the subject of this posting over at B&I. Acknowledging the linguistic and geographical breadth of comparable terminology is a good starting point for seeing how this conception of “fear” does, and does not, overlap with the conception of “fear” that modern readers may bring to ancient texts. These terms from antiquity can and do indicate a feeling of fear. Yet they regularly go beyond feelings, and they convey a conception of feelings per se in ways that reveal taxonomical challenges.

Father’s Day is observed in June. Christian Brady is a person who observes about Father’s day. Is it coincidence? It seems not. So what that it’s a post from 2016. He reposted it this month and so it’s fair game for carnivalizing.

Is water wet? Is the Pope Catholic? Is NT Wright publishing a book this week? Is Mike Bird? Do you even have to ask?

Bart Ehrman has a post on the OT and the early Church that may whet your appetite enough to join his network so you can see the whole thing. I’d join up myself but to be honest all of my income goes on books, food, and clothes. And food and clothes only if I have a little left over from book buying.

ANEE is looking for a doctoral candidate. If you’re studying the Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern kinds of things and you’re interested in living in Scandinavia for awhile, you should apply, thou lowly undergrad.

Has God cursed the earth? Is climate change a result? Here’s a post on the topic.

Ian Paul wonders if the Bible is clear about marriage. Or anything. Interesting question, isn’t it.

Hot New Testament Posts

James Tabor is following discussions concerning the Last Supper and the Passover and has some cogent points to make. Mike Aubrey is on a tear about verbal aspect theory. Apparently he doesn’t like Aktionsart as well. What has the world come to? What next, no Santa? No Easter Bunny?

Joan Taylor gave a brief talk up in Canada about Jesus. You can watch the YouTube video here. It’s only around 25 minutes, so even thouse with tiny attention spans should be able to manage it. And it’s very good.

So called ‘First Century’ Mark has returned… blerg. It is worth noting that the Green Collection, though having received title to the fragments (see point 10 of the purchase agreement), never took physical possession of the fragments. Instead, in accordance with other terms of the agreement (see points 10.1-10.2) the fragments were left in Obbink’s custody for research and publication (the intended venue of initial publication being specified in 10.3). You’ll have to read the post and its attachments to figure out what all that is supposed to mean. Blerg.

Larry Hurtado writes in connection with the scandal (this is as close to scandal as scholarship gets, unless you count Richard Pervo…): This new evidence is personally dismaying, as it raises questions about the actions of Obbink, in whom I placed trust earlier (as in my blog posting here). It now appears that my confidence may have been misplaced. In a comment on Nongbri’s posting [NB- It’s actually a comment on Elijah Hixson’s post, not Nongbri’s][JW], Peter Head says these developments now make me and Ehrman look “stupid”. I’m not clear how he reached that judgment. I may have been mistaken in my trust in Obbink, but trusting someone until there is reason to think otherwise is hardly stupid, Peter. Also chiming in is Elijah Hixson over on ETC. Enjoy the comments there too.

But the best analysis of the whole debacle is by Bart Ehrman. His take is here. And his response to demonstrably false claims and statements is here.

But if you want a more Obbink friendly take on the whole thing, don’t worry. There’s this guy. He seems to think the whole thing is a setup…. And Larry Hurtado thinks the fragment probative. Allow me to remind you, however, that it is unprovenanced.

And, finally, as the month drew to a close, this shows up in Christianity Today. What a bunch of shady characters doing shady things. And worst of all, they knew they were.

Whew… That’s a lot of talk about an unprovenanced trinket. Hey, you know how these problems and scandals can be avoided in the future? Scholars can decide to have NOTHING to do with anything unprovenanced! ‘Oh, hey Bob, you have a trinket you think is ancient and you want me to stake my reputation on it but you got it from some dude in a back alley? Nah, hard pass, dude. You go ruin your reputation, I think I’ll keep mine’.

On a happier topic- there’s, according to the title, a post about Paul here. But I have to be honest, I didn’t read it. Not because I didn’t want to, but because it’s a Patheos blog and I couldn’t actually find the post amidst all the pop up ads and advertisements on the page. Or, I did find it, and Paul had hemorrhoid issues and a very bad case of eczema. I hope you can hack through the weeds and find the fruit.

J.M. asks ‘what did Jesus learn from Mary of Bethany?’ Nothing so far as the NT is concerned, but that doesn’t at all hinder the speculation and the need of many to make women more and more prominent in the early Church, thus rendering history falsely and misrepresenting the facts. But hey, there are ideological points to make. So texts must be violated. If trends continue, Jesus will soon himself be declared a woman.

Nijay Gupta has a series of 16 posts on the topic of Women in Ministry. Definitely worth taking a look at. It’s a hot topic these days, along with complementarianism and egalitarianism and such things. Women are big news, it seems. It reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Galatians- There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female — for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:28)

Larry Hurtado has some thoughts on scribal harmonizations. Can’t we all just get along? And then he goes on to talk about scribal changes, which he views as mostly intentional reader’s adjustments to texts. Hmmmm…….. It seems progressives were at work centuries ago, adjusting texts to suit their views…… And Larry also has some thoughts on the baby Jesus in artistic representations… and whether he’s Jewish (baby Jesus that is, not Larry).

Speaking of texts- over at ETC they have mentioned a series available from de Gruyter and concerned with texts and textual studies.

What happens when a publisher of ANE texts and related books posts on the Letter of James? This does…

Stephen Carlson made a rare guest appearance on Bart Ehrman’s blog! It’s like sighting a Yeti, a UFO, and an intelligent and honest politician all on the same day!!!! Oh and he talks about Mark. Or something.

Sarah Bond posted a gem about museum exhibitions. It includes – These are just a few of the colorful objects that caught my eye in this luscious exhibition. There is is no doubt that there are problems of provenance and museum acquisition glimpsed at within World Between Empires; a fact noted by Press in his Hyperallergic review. But there is also a potent message to visitors throughout, one which asks viewers to consider the impact of the looting of cultural heritage today in places like Iran, Iraq, and Palmyra.

Michael Langlois posted on the Norwegian ‘Lying Pen of Scribes’ folk and their work. In case you haven’t heard of it- “The Lying Pen of Scribes” is the name of a new research project led by my Norwegian colleague Årstein Justnes. The title comes from the biblical Book of Jeremiah, chapter 8 verse 8. The idea was born after I suspected the presence of modern forgeries in the Schøyen collection of Dead Sea Scrolls. Our international core team—Torleif Elgvin, Årstein Justnes, Kipp Davis, Ira Rabin and myself—conducted additional research, which confirmed my suspicions. Etc.

John the Baptist died. In fact, he was killed. And stuff from where he was killed has been brought to light. And Chris Rollston is involved with deciphering it. And that means that whatever comes to light will be reliable and accurately described. Because Chris is a true scholar.

A new project regarding stamp seals in the southern Levant has been announced by Ido Koch. Take a look.

Jodi Magness’s work on Masada is discussed here. It’s also a book review. But since it’s both, I’ve posted it here, on the cusp of the book review section. You’re welcome.

Hot Book Posts

First off- if you are a fan of open access books in religion, there’s a new twitter account to follow. Announced here.

Heather Thiessen blogged a review of a book on Judges. It’s a good review and hers is a delightful blog. If you aren’t familiar, you should most definitely check it out. I don’t know if she is related to Gerd Thiessen but if she is, it would make me UNNATURALLY and GLORIOUSLY happy.

Bart Ehrman has a book in preparation and a couple of book ideas percolating. And he discusses them here. Hartmut Leppin wrote a book on the Early Church. It’s reviewed here. You’ll find it quite enjoyable.

A new volume on the Psalms is available, in Open Access, by V&R. Give it a look, and see if it’s something you’d like to read.

Bird reviews deSilva on Galatians. MB remarks I’ve finally been able to read over David A. deSilva’s long-awaited Galatians commentary in the NICNT series and it is definitely one to put on your shelf. The commentary is characterized by deSilva’s eye for exegetical details, historical investigation, interest in background, and awareness of socio-cultural factors. Yes, but what does he say about the ‘if cutting off a little helps, hack the whole thing off’ bit???? Inquiring minds…

Anthony Royal reviews a book on Paul’s use of the Old Testament in Romans. It’s a nice review and the book looks very interesting.

Andrew Judd reviewed a book introducing the Hebrew Scriptures. An Introduction to the Scriptures of Israel. An Introduction to the Scriptures of Israel offers a fresh way in to the Hebrew Bible as a work of literature and theology. Says the reviewer. Fresh. Or as the kids say it, Phresh.

Scot McKnight has a fantastic post on bible translation tribalism. It’s witty and humorous and if you missed it, don’t miss it today.

Bible Gateway did an interview with a chap who wrote a book on the bigness of God. It’s big.

Larry Hurtado wrote the world’s shortest (so far) book review. David Allen’s recent study of the appropriation and influence of OT texts on NT references to Jesus’ death is very much worth noting: According to the Scriptures: The Death of Christ in the Old Testament and the New (SCM Press, 2018). I’ve just finished a short review of the book for Expository Times, and I can commend it. I don’t know if that means he can commend the book or his review of the book.

Ian Paul excerpts bits of a book review by Mike Bird on transgender children. Talk about a hot subject… it’s sure to engender loads of angry, letter-writing-campaign-generating discussion.

Hot Miscellaneous Posts

James McGrath made mention of the 20th anniversary of ‘The Matrix’ and reminisced about the title of his own blog in its first incarnation. James is still worth following as he continues to explore the matrix we all inhabit. Michael Langlois discusses the events of the intertestamental period. By the by, if you want to know anything about the Scrolls or epigraphy Michael is your guy.

Helen Bond offered some thoughts on Mary Beard’s Gifford Lectures. A must read.

Travis Bohlinger is at Cambridge for the Tyndale House conference and he’s posted some super photos that make me wish I were back in Cambridge right now. I guess I will just have to pine and long for it till I get to return in January for SOTS.

James Crossley’s lecture from down in Australia is online. It’s about English people and the Bible. Loads of fun.

Christian Brady reminds us that the hard right has no interest in faith- it simply sees faith as a means of manipulation. Give his post a read. It’s quite timely.

Roberta Mazza has a post about Josh McDowell and his co-conspirator’s Russian appearance. My favourite duo, Scott Carroll and Josh McDowell, is still around; this time, they went to Russia pretending as usual to be manuscript experts. Incredible as it may seem, there are people happy to join their show.

There will be a digital papyrology workshop in Parma in 2020. Details here.

Oh Larry… no. Just no… We don’t encourage people to visit ‘wikepedia’ or wikipedia. In a number of publications over the last several years, scholars have drawn attention to the ground-breaking work of several early scholars who date from the late second through the early fourth centuries AD. In particular, the massive and innovative projects of Origen (ca. 184-253 AD) are noteworthy (see, e.g., the lengthy entry on him in Wikepedia here). Nor do we encourage appreciation for Origen, who, according to the blessed Saint Jerome, is the chief of all heretics. No, Larry. Bad Larry. Bad.

Spend a bit of time reading the Newman Research Blog’s 30 days of biblical wildness. There’s a post for each day of June on an aspect of wildlife and environmentalism.

Well friends seeking relief from the oppressive heat of summer- thanks for stopping by. And look for the next Carnival in about a month. And if so inclined, host one yourself. They are a lot of fun. As Phil ‘the Host’ Long writes

If you are a new blogger, a graduate student or established scholar who is actively blogging, I would love to have you host a future carnival.

As you can see there is no one for the rest of the year (September through December are wide open). I have a few asks out there, but there is still time for you to volunteer as Carnival Host. Hosting the carnival is a great way to draw attention to your work, so consider hosting in the near future.

Seriously….PLEASE email me (plong42 at gmail.com) or direct message on Twitter (@plong42) to volunteer. You can also leave a comment here with your contact info and I will get back to you.